GM to sell Hummer to Chinese company

General Motors (GM) said that it would sell its Hummer brand, once a crucial part of its strategy to expand its line-up of sport utility vehicles, to a Chinese heavy equipment maker and a private investor, for US$150 million. The sale to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is another step in GM’s rapid downsizing, after emerging from a government-financed bankruptcy. GM’s talks with Sichuan Tengzhong were disclosed in June, and the agreement is still subject to regulatory approvals by the Chinese government. Sales of the brand peaked in 2006, when Hummer sold 71,000 vehicles in the United States. Chief Executive James Taylor said in a statement that the new owners planned to offer alternative-fuel engines in Hummer’s three models, as well as a diesel version to be sold outside North America. (October 10, 2009)